Archive for ‘Energy Deals & Offers’

OVO Energy are a different kind of energy supplier. Six years ago OVO Energy started out as a kitchen table chat between a couple of friends who wanted to create an energy supplier that actually did what people want. A supplier which had fairer prices, more transparency over pricing and where energy comes from. A supplier with great customer service, the technology to make managing your energy easier and above all a focus on sustainability and the environment.

Today OVO have over half a million satisfied customers and are working harder than ever to make customers energy supply as easy and as inexpensive as possible.

OVO Energy strive to offer their customers two things. Firstly, an energy mix of gas and electricity from the greenest and secondly, energy from the most sustainable sources available and at the best possible price. OVO’s mix of energy comes from natural gas and renewable sources whilst avoiding energy generated from coal.
Fairer fuel
Just one of the ways in which OVO brings fairer energy prices is through its ‘Communities’ initiative. OVO communities aims to bring energy to customers from local sources whilst cutting costs (and thus prices as well as reducing carbon emissions. Consumers in these areas have access to greener, cheaper energy which is generated, bought and run by local communities. Another bonus for consumers is that it brings more secure long term energy tariffs

OVO have set up several community partnerships with local authorities such as Cheshire East Council, Peterborough City Council and Southend-on-Sea Borough Council. These community partnerships aim to tackle fuel poverty through measures (such as in Cheshire East) by operating on a not-for-profit basis.

OVO are an independent energy supplier. This means that they do not generate energy in their own power stations but buy it on the open market from a whole range of suppliers. OVO Energy buys their gas and electricity from different power generators from around the country. This allows OVO to constantly buy energy at the best possible price, passing savings on to customers, whilst ensuring that they can always buy the cleanest, greenest energy available on the market at an affordable price. This is something OVO Energy calls ‘mainstream green’.

Not generating their own fuel, but buying from the energy market allows OVO to offer some of the most competitive gas and electricity rates on the consumer market. Part of the way OVO does this is through dual fuel plans or dual fuel tariffs.
What does ‘Dual Fuel’ mean?

Dual fuel can be a cheaper way to pay for your electricity and gas. A ‘dual fuel’ tariff bundles both electricity and gas from the same supplier into a single energy contract, pricing plan and bill. Energy suppliers like dual fuel tariffs as they get more income when customers take both energy sources from them so often push consumers to take these plans. So are dual fuel tariffs just good for energy companies?

No. A lot of people find dual fuel tariffs are convenient and save time and money with only one bill to worry about paying and a single supplier to deal with if there are any problems. As energy suppliers actively want customers to take dual fuel tariffs they often offer extra discounts for customers who sign up to these plans.

The latest Which? customer service satisfaction survey has revealed that the Big Six energy companies have lost 2 million customers but complaints are up by a third.

nPower have the highest average complaints in the industry, whereas 100% Gloucestershire based green energy suppliers Ecotricity have the lowest industry complaints and impressively for the 5th year running (receiving only 0.86 complaints per 1000 customers in 2014) which is great news, although of course we are not surprised as many of our Lets Get Energized team are happy customers for our home energy supply!

“The energy industry is, slowly, changing for the better – switching is getting quicker and more people are changing suppliers looking not just for better prices, but also for better service. These latest figures demonstrate that, despite the mass migration away from the Big Six, which is itself often due to poor customer service – the Big Six are getting worse.

“We know that customer service is a key driver of switching; we publish this league table each year because Ofgem won’t do it, for some reason. The online switching sites, which Ofgem regulates, also refuse to give prominence to customer service, focusing solely on price. Both could do better, and people need to know if they are jumping out of the frying pan into the fire – when it comes to leaving their old supplier for poor service.

“Ecotricity has had the lowest number of industry complaints for five years running and we also topped the 2014 Which? energy customer satisfaction survey – we do that by treating people how we would want to be treated, by answering the phone quickly, resolving complaints as they arise, and using a customer service team based here in Gloucestershire who answer the phone themselves, with no automated call waiting. These are basic things that so much of the industry just gets plain wrong.”

While Ecotricity, along with First Utility and SSE, have now cut switching times to 17 days (including a 14 day cooling off period), the rest of the industry has yet to do the same and still take up to 35 days to switch customers – they have until the end of the year to cut switch times according to Ofgem’s new regulations.

Make the simple switch to Ecotricity (and celebrate with a £50 John Lewis voucher too!)

If you want to switch energy supplier and enjoy competitive fixed prices as well as top customer satisfaction, it couldn’t be easier to switch to Ecotricity and literally takes less than five minutes.

To help you celebrate the switch to green energy this Christmas, they will also give you a £50 voucher to spend at John Lewis, if you switch through Lets Get Energized.

Wessex EcoEnergy

Dorset Energized recently attended and exhibited at the Dorset County Show, with a stand in the tent provided by Communities Living Sustainably in Dorset. Alongside us in the tent, were Wessex EcoEnergy – and below is some information about them that they provided us with:

Wessex ECOEnergy is a local renewable energy company based in Dorchester and provide renewable energy systems to homes and businesses.

One of the company founders attended Thomas Hardye School so grew up in the local area. They aim to take more of a consultative approach to your renewable energy needs and offer combined systems to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels and energy price rises.

They specialise in providing and combining:

The World’s leading Solar Thermal system: Which uses daylight to heat your hot water and central heating system. Clients can save on average 50% to 75% of their annual bills and get ongoing payments from the government via the RHI (renewable heat incentive) scheme.

Market Leading Biomass
Their Froling solution is a market leader offering pellet, wood and combined wood and pellet boilers. Also benefits from substantial RHI payments.

Primary business clients:
Hotels
Farms
Nursing Homes
Nurseries
Schools/Universities
Airports
Caravan Parks/Campsites
Supermarkets
Breweries
Any business that owns it’s own premises
Homes
Any home with a reliance on oil will make a substantial saving
Detached properties
Households with 4 or more people

Contact for a consultation and quote:
sales@wessexecoenergy.com
01305 250429

Organic September is here once again for 2014, and is the UK’s biggest celebration of all things organic.

Dorset Energized believe that by choosing organic we can all support a kinder, greener and better food system – better for animal welfare, better for wildlife and better for the environment. This can be achieved by making simple every day changes such as switching your milk to organic.

New Monthly Prize Draw Launches for Organic September

To celebrate Organic September, we have launched our new Monthly Prize Draw by teaming up with two great organic Dorset based companies, Goldhill Organics and Respect Organics, to give away a free organic veg box of any size delivered straight to your door using only the best healthy, seasonal and local fruit and vegetables, plus an assortment of carrot cake, chocolate cake, banana loaf and ginger crush cake as a treat too!

The lucky winner will be picked at random from all our mailing list subscribers on 1st October 2014, when we will also launch the next monthly prize draw.

Why buy organic food?

Nutritional differences in organic
New research shows significant differences in anti-oxidant levels between organic and non-organic crops.

Food you can trust
You can be safe in the knowledge that hydrogenated fats and controversial additives like aspartame, tartrazine and MSG are banned under organic standards.

Better for the environment
Organic farming reduces pollution and greenhouse gases released from food production by restricting the use of artificial chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

Wildlife protection
Organic farms are havens for wildlife and provide homes for bees, birds and butterflies. In fact, plant, insect and bird life is up to 50% greater on organic farms.

Higher animal welfare
Organic standards insist that animals are given plenty of space and fresh air to thrive and grow – guaranteeing a truly free-range life. The leading farm animal welfare charity Compassion in World Farming recommend buying Soil Association Organic approved meat and dairy as this specific label currently offers the highest animal welfare standards.

A GM free dietGM crops and ingredients are banned under organic standards. Choosing organic is an effective way to avoid GM in your diet.

Discounted electric bills if you live near a Wind Farm

This is probably the best use of the community benefit fund. My suggestion would be 80% discount for those living within 4 km and 50% discount for those living within the next band up to 8 km. I’d be interested to see how much this would cost in the case of the three proposed wind projects in Dorset. If this is of interest to the companies involved, we could do the calculations for them based on number of households and average Dorset electricity consumption. I suspect there would still be a lot of money left over in the community fund.

Green Deal Plan for Home: Here is the Start to Finish Process

It’s called the Green Deal – a project designed to help you make energy saving improvements at home and also to find the ideal way to make payments for the same. Home improvements for maximum energy conservation generally depend upon the structure of the house. However the main focus of the project should be including solid wall insulation, double glazing, boiler upgrades, and much many other things discussed below.

After many years of talking and planning about the Green Deal, the flagship energy saving scheme designed by the government is finally up and running. The aim of the project is to make every house warmer and much cheaper to run. To achieve this however, people are not required to shell large sums of money upfront.

The Green Deal project typically comprises of the following stages:

1. Assessment

Assessment involves inspection of your home or office premises by a fully accredited Green Deal Advisors. The respective advisor will perform the following functions:

Survey the entire property and come up with EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) in order to ascertain the current energy rating and also to recognize the types of developments which the Green Deal can fund.

In case the EPC recognizes any suitable measure fit for attaining Green Deal finance, the Green Deal Assessor will commence a Green Deal Occupancy Assessment and recognize what improvements are going to be cost effective and look out for any scope of cash back or subsidies.

Explain in detail the entire payment process

Prepare a Green Deal advice report that will outline all your available options

Also assist you in selecting a Green Deal Provider

Supervise the home improvement installations and sign off as soon as the work is complete.

2. Installation

The Green Deal Advisor will fix up with the Green Deal Provider and appoint a suitable Green Deal Installer for you. The installer will then make the required home improvement jobs – you and the Green Deal Advisor agreed upon. You are required to constantly access the installer to ensure he fulfills all the standards laid down by the Green Deal.

3. Repayment

You are required to pay back the cost of your various home improvement jobs over a period of time by means of electricity bills. Here your electricity supplier is supposed to pass on your payments to the respective Green Deal Provider. It is to be noted that the amount you pay via your electricity bill is not going to be more than you save upon your heating bills. This way you are guaranteed to be in profit from the very first day.

You’ll be required to pay for your home improvement services, but the payment you make will never be considered as your conventional personal loan. Reason – the payment will be attached to your electricity meter and paid back in the form of electricity bill. In case you vacate the property, the charge will be picked up by the new occupant, who will also benefit from the energy-efficient property.

A regular interest will be charged on all payments, but the rate will be fixed. In addition, you will be shown a complete schedule of all the payments before you finally sign up the plan.

Improvements covered by the Green Deal include:

Insulation

Glazing

Heating and hot power

Microgeneration

The non-domestic centers would also cover mechanical ventilation, heat recovery measures and lighting.

Incentives to Begin the Green Deal Scheme

Recently, the government launched the Green Deal Cask Back Scheme in an attempt to encourage more homeowners to take up home improvements right in the early days of Green Deal.

According to the scheme, the most eligible candidates will receive cash back guarantee as soon as they get their measures installed. The highest rates will be allotted to the earliest applicants.

The ECO (Energy Company Obligation)

The ECO for the large six energy suppliers comprises of three parts, including:

1. Affordable Warm Obligation

This will provide heating and hot water saving measures, glazing, micro generation technology and insulation to vulnerable and low-income households. There are however complex eligibility criteria for this scheme.

2. Carbon Saving Obligation

CSO is a means to provide funding in order to insulate solid-walled premises including those with tough to treat cavity walls.

3. Carbon Saving Communities Obligation

This will provide glazing and insulation measures to all people comprising of bottom 15% of the most deprived areas in UK.

There is a strong line up of exhibitors who can advise on Solar PV, Biomass Heating, Thermal Heating, Energy Savings, Green Energy, Eco Design and Sustainable Planning.

We will have the new 100% electric Nissan LEAF car on show and an exciting range of new model Electric Bikes.

Renewable Energy companies will be outlining exciting new projects across Dorset.

Our aim is to demonstrate the opportunities for strong Community involvement in schemes to create local energy and reduce the cost of energy to people living nearby.

There will be a continuous Forum being lead by local Hydro Expert Keith Wheaton Green where we shall have leading speakers talking about a miriad of subjects with lots of time for questions from all our visitors.

We hope that this will be a great opportunity for the people of Dorchester and its surrounding areas to really engage with the opportunities that Renewable Energy offers both in reducing the burden of energy costs and making a contribution to the reduction in CO2 within Dorset.

Drumroll please and sound the Christmas trumpets!!!

The lucky winner of our competition to win a fantastic Owl Wireless Electricity Monitor (worth £42.95) courtesy of green energy suppliers Good Energy is… Katie Corr! Congratulations Katie – we hope you will enjoy saving energy and saving money and would love to hear your feedback on your new monitor in the new year!

And congratulations too to Cheryl Pasquier who has won an assortment of yummy organic cakes, made with love here in Dorset by our friends at Respect Organics, as a thank you for sharing our competition via Twitter. Enjoy Cheryl!

And here’s our gift to you this Christmas…

Get £25 off your first bill when you switch to Good Energy – only when you quote ‘Dorset Energized’ – but hurry as the offer ends on 31st December.

OR celebrate the new year in style with a £60 Naked Wines Voucher when you switch to Ecotricity – only when you quote ‘Dorset Energized’.

Good Energy and Ecotricity are the UK’s only 100% renewable electricity suppliers, and they have both frozen their prizes until Spring 2014 which is great news.

It only remains for everyone at Dorset Energized to wish you a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy Green New Year!

Ecotricity are pleased to launch our partnership with Dorset Energized and support the work they do help empower people to live a more sustainable life.

We’re an energy company unlike any other. We take the money our customers spend on their electricity and gas bills and turn it into new sources of Green Energy.

When we talk about green energy we mean 100% Green Electricity made from the wind and the sun and Green Gas – that comes with a ‘Frack Free’ guarantee. People are really beginning to turn against the Big Six energy companies, to question where their energy comes from. The reaction to fracking plans in Balcombe and elsewhere is evidence of that, and at Ecotricity we have ensured that none of our gas will come from fracking, and our electricity is always 100% Green.

And we don’t just supply green energy, we make it ourselves with our rapidly growing fleet of renewable energy parks.

As the Big Six Energy companies continue to increase prices by as much as 10%, we have frozen ours until next year. And we have a Price Promise too – that we will always be cheaper than the standard Big Six electricity tariff in your region and the standard gas price from British Gas wherever you live.

As a not-for-dividend company, with no shareholders or investors to keep happy, we’re free to dedicate our money to our mission – changing the way energy is made and used in Britain. And on average we continue to spend more per customer, per year, than all of the other energy companies in Britain put together.

Electricity is the biggest single source of carbon emissions in Britain – but it’s not the only one of course. The big three are Energy, Transport and Food: between them accounting for 80% of all of our personal carbon footprints. The one thing they have in common is that Energy plays a vital role in them all. That’s why we extended our work beyond the boundaries of traditional energy companies.

In Transport we built the Nemesis, Britain’s first electric super car – to demonstrate how cars of the future could actually be wind powered. Next came our Electric Highway, the world’s first national network of charging stations – to kick-start the electric car revolution in Britain, find out more here.

Partnerships with organisations like Dorset Energized are so important to helping create a Green Britain and revolutionise where our energy comes from. Switching energy supplier is one of the easiest and single biggest things you can do to make a change.

To celebrate the start of BIG ENERGY SAVING WEEK (21st – 25th October 2013), Dorset Energized have launched a very special offer to win an OWL Wireless Electricity Monitor courtesy of our partners Good Energy. Plus, as a double whammy, if you like us on Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest you’ll also have the chance to win an assortment of yummy cakes by our friends at Respect Organics, and if you share our offer on your social networks you’ll have even more chances to win cakes!

The OWL+USB Wireless Electricity Monitor (which retails at £42.95) is a complete wireless electricity monitoring solution to let you monitor your electricity usage through live and historical charts via your PC at a time to suit you, via the supplied USB cable and software supplied. With a superior memory capability, ultra fast download speed, Owl + USB makes it easy for you to track and save money. It’s ideal for anyone who wants to be able to see a visible reduction in their consumption and cost of electricity or reduce their household impact on the environment to fight against climate change.

All Respect Organics cakes are organic and use free-range eggs. Organic farming releases less greenhouse gases than non-organic farming, so choosing organic, local and seasonal food can significantly reduce your carbon footprint.

This week at Dorset Energized we are celebrating Climate Week so look out for lots more posts about tackling climate change and saving energy (and money!).

Climate Week is Britain’s biggest climate change campaign, inspiring a new wave of action to create a sustainable future.

Each year, half a million people attend 3,000 events in Britain’s biggest ever environmental occasion. Events are run by schools, businesses, charities, councils and many others.

Following on from the success of our recent Sturminster Newton Renewable Energy Exhibition and Forum last month, we hope to be involved in a Climate Week Event here in Dorset in 2014 so do let us know if you would like to be part of that.

Energy Switch Challenge

In the meantime why not kick off this week by taking the ‘Climate Week Energy Switch’ challenge and switch your electricity and gas supply to a green energy company. Ecotricity are one such company, and we always say that ‘if you do 1 thing today – switch to Good Energy‘ as they are the UK’s only 100% renewable electricity supplier…

£50 off your first energy bill with Good Energy

If you switch to Good Energy and quote ‘Dorset Energized’ they’ll even give you £50 off your first bill! Find out more here: Switch to Good Energy >>

If you want some further inspiration or to get more involved in Climate Week you can also check out their website at: www.climateweek.com.

Dorset Energized have launched an exciting Short Story Competition for under 16’s sponsored by our friends at Respect Organics…

We are looking for a story set in the Dorset of the future, when all energy is generated renewably, by windmills, solar panels or biogas, and all cars are electric. Let your imagination run wild and picture how that world will look, and how it will work. What effect will it have on the food that we eat? What will it mean for wildlife and biodiversity? However, don’t just describe the scene – tell us a story about interesting characters that is set in a green world.

Rules:
The competition is open to all writers aged up to 16 on the closing date of the competition, which is 31 March 2013. You must be living in Dorset and attending school in Dorset.

The story can be up to 1000 words. It must be typed, double-spaced, on only one side of the paper. The pages must be numbered, and you must not put your name or address on the pages. Each story must be accompanied by an entry form. There is no entry fee.

The list of winners and the winning entry will be posted at www.letsgetenergized.co.uk by 31 May 2013.
First prize is £100 Amazon vouchers.
There will be a second prize of £50 Amazon vouchers.
Plus two runner-up prizes of £25 Amazon vouchers.

The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into, or comments given on individual entries. The judging panel will be led by Wendy Pillar, MA, who has twenty-five years’ experience in the publishing industry.

Copyright remains with the author, but Dorset Energized and their partners including Energize Stur Valley retains the right to publicise winning and runner-up entries.

As well as helping get Dorset Energized off the ground, I run Respect Organics with my family in Shaftesbury, Dorset. Respect Organics is the UK’s leading organic cake producers, and we are very proud of our relationship with the Dorset Energized campaign to connect people with renewable energy.

Dorset Energized partners FJ Chalke Nissan in Wincanton are encouraging drivers in the area to ‘Turn On’ to a low-carbon lifestyle for a more sustainable future.

The Big Turn On is an online led campaign with the aim of getting one million people to Turn On to 100% electric driving and create their own profile page on The Big Turn On website.

Once ‘Turned On’ you will be entered onto a leader board where you could WIN a Nissan LEAF and also an iPad2. You can then gain additional points by taking part in various activities and encouraging other people to ‘Turn On’ too.

YOU COULD WIN CHARGING STATIONS FOR DORSET TOO!
Nissan will also donate rapid charging stations to the city with the most ‘Turn Ons’. Local councils and businesses will then find the best locations to install the stations – please recommend Wincanton!

I’m Beverley, the Electric Vehicle Sales Manager for the Nissan LEAF at FJ Chalke, Wincanton. We are very proud to be in partnership with Dorset Energized.

This revolutionary new car is the world’s first affordable 100% electric car with zero emissions and has impressed the media and potential customers alike, as well as picking up two of the motor industry’s biggest accolades by becoming both the European and World Car of the Year 2011 which, seeing as it is the first electric car to ever achieve this, shows just how good it really is.

I haven’t been in car sales for long at all, and the Nissan LEAF is the first and only car I have ever specialised in. Customers sometimes are too afraid to walk into a dealership in case they are thrown into a massive sales pitch, when all the really want to do is take a look at a car, and possibly test drive it. So to celebrate Climate Week, FJ Chalke will hold a test drive open week for the Nissan LEAF 12th to 17th March. No strings attached, just come in, take a look at the LEAF and getting a feel for the car by taking it for a test drive and experience the real deal for yourself. All we would ask for is feedback.

Switch to Good Energy and get £25 off your first bill when you quote ‘Dorset Energized’

We’ve already lined up some great offers for you! Dorset Energized are proud to be in partnership with Good Energy, the UK’s only 100% renewable electricity supplier. All of their electricity is generated using natural power from the wind, water and sun or through sustainable biogeneration. That means no carbon, no nuclear and no fossil fuels.

If you switch to Good Energy, quote ‘Dorset Energized’ and they’ll give you £25 off your first bill.

Lets Get Energized with Renewable Energy!

Lets Get Energized is your online guide to renewable energy and sustainable living with the latest news, views and tips plus exclusive special offers to help you save energy and money, beat rising energy prices, combat climate change and be more self sufficient – right now, and for your future...